?? A few days later

?? After dealing with the matter of the delimitation treaty, His Royal Highness Don Leeshin will return from Fubo City, and after a short stop in Fubo City, he will return to Suez City on the armored cruiser "Evil Wind" and go to Cairo to start a new round of foreign affairs.

?? In the room of the city hall in the clouds, Wu Youcai, a representative of the North American Colonization Bank, met with Duke Surel and his party here, and the two sides immediately held several rounds of negotiations on the issue of Ethiopian borrowing, but the results were not satisfactory.

?? The reason for this is more on Wu Youcai.

?? Relying on the fact that Duke Surel and his entourage did not understand the situation of the empire's financial industry and did not have a deep understanding of international credit, Wu Youcai Shishi opened his mouth to ask for an annual interest rate of 13.5% for this loan worth 1.2 million Tang Yuan, and attached many conditions.

?? One is to require the taxes of the two ancient cities of Gursum and Magdala, as well as part of the territory, as a double mortgage to ensure the safety of funds.

?? Second, the loan period is set at 6 years, and there is a 5% penalty interest on overdue, which can lead to an annual interest rate of more than 18% for the entire loan, which is quite a staggering figure.

?? Third, the loan was paid in three instalments, the first week of 1873 and the first week of June 1873 after the signing of the loan agreement, and the interest rate on the loan was calculated from the time the agreement was signed, which invisibly raised the interest rate.

?? Fourth, no less than one-third of the loan will be paid as the cost of hiring a Chinese-American cowboy musketeer team, that is, 400,000 Tang Yuan.

?? This is equivalent to Ethiopia borrowing 1.2 million Tang Yuan in loans, and only 800,000 Tang Yuan was actually obtained, and the remaining 400,000 Tang Yuan was left in the account of the North American Colonization Bank as mercenary expenses.

?? On the one hand, the interests of the mercenaries are guaranteed. The second aspect is to increase the deposits of the North American Colonization Bank, and if you want to remit back to North America, only a diplomatic mail is required.

?? The name of the depositor, the address and the amount of the deposit are detailed in the diplomatic mail, and the head office of the North American Colonization Bank is responsible for the transfer of funds, and there is no need to physically escort the cash money back to North America.

?? For this 400,000 Tang Yuan remittance, North American Colonization Bank tearfully earned 20% of the international transoceanic exchange fee, that is, 80,000 Tang Yuan.

?? This money can only employ 1,200 Chinese musketeers for a year, still in the situation of not being tense in combat missions.

?? Average it down

?? It costs about 160 Tang Yuan to hire each Chinese musket soldier, plus the combat allowance, attendance allowance, equipment allowance and other expenses, which is about 330 Tang Yuan per person.

?? This price is not high, and it is only about 4 times the income of ordinary workers in North America, you must know that this is a life money, and it is all cavalry.

?? In just a few days

?? The North American cowboys who poured into Cloudsdale formed the Ethiopian Legion, and selected 5 mercenary leaders to meet with Duke Surel, and finally decided to hire 1,200 cavalry.

?? After several days of anxious negotiations, the Duke of Surel, forced by the current domestic and foreign difficulties of the Johann-Nice IV dynasty, could only grit his teeth and agree to most of Su Youcai's requests, and the only thing that did not let go on the issue of double pledge.

?? It is okay to pledge a loan with part of the territory, and you can afford to grit your teeth with a high-interest loan, anyway, if you can't get this life-saving loan, the situation of the Johann Nice IV dynasty is precarious, and it may not last for a few years.

?? The biggest problem is that the North American Colonization Bank also asks for the tax revenue of the two ancient cities of Gursum and Magdala as collateral, these two ancient cities are the nest of the Tigray tribe and the base camp of the northern Tigray kingdom, how can they be mortgaged?

?? Even after Johannes IV retired from the throne, he was still the Grand Chief of the Tigray Clan, a powerful man on the one side.

?? Duke Surrell, a confidant of the emperor and a member of the Tigray Tribal Council of Elders, shook his head like a wave drum and said; "Impossible...... This is impossible, and His Majesty the King of kings will not be able to grant it. You better change the conditions, this request is too much. ”

??“ Oh...... I don't think it's too much, Imperial North American Colonization Bank has always focused on credibility and protecting the safety of funds. Double pledge will not happen if you do not default, but it is just a guarantee for the safety of depositors' funds of our bank. If we can't be satisfied, we can only say sorry, I'm afraid it will be difficult to continue to cooperate. Wu Youcai's face was full of smiles like a spring breeze, but his attitude was extremely tough, and he didn't give an inch to the weakness of the other party.

?? Duke Surel could only smile bitterly when he heard this, it was almost impossible not to break the contract.

?? Wang Chengxian, the leader of the mercenaries of the newly formed Ethiopian Legion, was a middle-aged man with a beard, he stared at Wu Youcai, who was rich below, with brass bell-like eyes, and muttered two sentences in his mouth, but he couldn't help but reprimand.

?? These black-hearted bankers are too greedy to be more ruthless than mercenaries.

?? But everyone belongs to the Tang camp, and after years of education by His Majesty the Emperor, we must work together, and every Tang person overseas is of compatriot blood, and we must help each other and love each other, and it is strictly forbidden to fight infighting.

?? The Imperial newspapers and public opinion have also repeatedly emphasized the importance of national unity with positive and negative examples.

?? A chopstick is easy to break, but what about a pair of chopsticks?

?? Wang Cheng was first a captain and retired officer of the Imperial Army, with a rich life, a bold and chivalrous person, and especially a love for the adventurous career of licking blood from the knife edge, which would be mixed with a large group of North American cowboys in their twenties and thirties, and was publicly promoted as the big leader.

?? Ryan Jacks, a British businessman at the negotiation site, also did not speak, and he is now a special construction consultant of the Yunzhong Provincial Preparatory Office. With a good salary, he cherishes the big stage provided by His Royal Highness to show his strengths, and wants to make a career.

?? Everyone's pursuit is different, and Ryan Jakes just wants to live up to what he has learned, build bridges, pave roads, open mines, build dams, and leave a strong mark on the construction of Yunzhong Province, which is what he dreams of.

?? It is impossible to help from the perspective of the Duke of Surel, and silence is the best way.

?? There was silence in the conference room

?? Think about it for a long time

?? Duke Surel let out a long sigh and asked with a frown; "Can the loan agreement be signed on the spot?"

??“ Yes, but returning to Gursum requires His Majesty's approval and signature of the Emperor's seal in order to receive the subsequent payment. ”

??“ How much money can I get for the first payment? ”

??“ It's worth 400,000 Tang Yuan, but this includes the 4 months' salary paid to the mercenary corps, totaling about 140,000 Yuan, so you actually got about 260,000 Tang Yuan. ”

??“ It's useless for us to get Tang Yuan, can we all exchange it for supplies here and send it back? ”

??“ No problem, North American Colonization Bank will provide considerate service for large customers, you can write down the list of materials you need, and we will raise them as quickly as possible. ”

??“ Last question, can your bank agree to offset the account with slaves or other goods? ”

??“ Oh...... Yes, but the price of black slaves is not high, and we are very demanding. Seeing that he could make a lot of money again, Wu Youcai's rich face and smile became more sincere, and he immediately said seriously;

??“ Your Excellency the Duke;

?? You know that banks are not good at human trafficking, so we can accept black slaves between 15~20 years old, both male and female, who are physically strong and free of disabilities, who are more than 5 feet tall and 4 feet 2 inches tall for women, and have neat teeth.

?? Black slaves who meet the above standards are priced at 20 Tang Yuan for men and 12 Tang Yuan for women, with a total limit of 12,000 per year.

?? If there is more quantity, we will have to lower the price. ”

?? You black-hearted banker!

?? Duke Surel gritted his back molars, stood up, stretched out his hand, and said; "May the fire from hell ravage your greedy soul, deal!"

??“ Very well, Your Excellency the Duke, you will not regret your decision today, it is a good deal for you and me. Wu Youcai smiled and high-fived the other party, and did not forget to send comforting words.

?? His pricing of black slaves was simply insulting the price of cabbage, and the whole of Africa experienced hundreds of years of black slave trade, how could Duke Surel not know the price of black slaves?

?? According to Wu Yongcai's requirements, such an excellent young male black slave starts at least 80 Tang Yuan, and the beautiful female black slave is even more than this price, a black slave is a price.

?? Shipping to Brazil is at least 300 Tang Yuan a piece, shipping to the Confederate States of America is at least 450 dollars, strong male black slaves are even worth thousands of dollars, and beautiful female black slaves are not surprising at 1,500 dollars.

?? But the question is not whether it is beautiful or not, but according to the calculation of the head of the goods, the male black slave is 20 yuan, and the female black slave is 12 yuan.

?? Even if this price is sold to the Najd region on the other side of the Red Sea, Jordan or Lebanon, it will cost at least 100 yuan, and if it crosses the Suez Canal to Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, the price will double again, at least 230~250 Tang Yuan.

?? But there is no way, Ethiopia has no ability to export black slaves, and must repay the Tang Yuan loan, which is borrowed by Tang Yuan and repaid by Tang Yuan, so these high-quality black slaves can only be sold to the North American Colonization Bank to offset the loan.

?? The Duke of Surel did not have any burden in his heart, and the black slaves on the Ethiopian plateau have always been tall and healthy, especially the female black slaves have a well-proportioned body and are as beautiful as flowers, which is the best source of goods.

?? In order to carry out Emperor Johannes IV's dream of unifying the Ethiopian plateau, the most urgent need now is military support, to convert the loan into a large number of weapons and equipment, to buy guns, gunpowder, tents, mules and horses, carts, all military supplies, and to use the newly hired musketeer regiment to escort back.

?? That's the most urgent thing to do.

?? If the dream of reunification cannot be completed, then everything is a glass phantom and disappears with the wind, what is the use of harsh conditions?

?? Duke Surel had his own set of logic, so he gritted his teeth and endured the oppression.

?? His Majesty the Emperor would then wage a series of wars, which would inevitably result in a large number of prisoners of war, and it would be a viable option to sell them cheaply to offset some of the loans.

?? This is the price of the reunification process, and His Majesty Johannes IV must be able to understand it, right?

Some people died, but not completely......